In a high-voltage propelled vehicle (HVPV), such as a hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), or a purely electric vehicle (EV), a relatively high-voltage power supply or energy storage system (ESS), for example a battery pack or other electrochemical energy storage device, provides a source of at least a portion of the electrical power required for propelling the vehicle. An engine or fuel cell can shut off or selectively power down when the vehicle is idling or at a standstill in order to further conserve fuel, and/or the vehicle can run entirely on electrical power provided by the ESS, depending on the particular design of the vehicle.
To provide sufficient electrical power for partially or fully propelling the vehicle, as well as to energize various high-voltage components connected to the ESS aboard the vehicle, the ESS contains or stores a relatively high potential energy or voltage, typically on the order of 60 to 300 volts or more. Common high-voltage components used aboard an HVPV can include, for example, one or more electric motor/generators, as well as an air conditioning control module (ACCM), a power steering controller, a power inverter module (PIM), an auxiliary power module (APM), and/or other relatively high-voltage devices.
The ESS delivers electrical currents of approximately 75 to 100 amps or more, which are conducted, transmitted, or routed through a dedicated high-voltage circuit using a high-voltage bus having a positively charged rail and a negatively charged rail. A separate power distribution box (PDB), or alternately a PDB that is integrally constructed with one of the various high-voltage components, is ordinarily used to provide high-voltage power distribution functionality aboard the vehicle, as effective direct high-voltage cable splicing methods, such as are commonly used to splice low-voltage cables or wires such as within a 12V system aboard a vehicle, are generally impracticable. By integrating the PDB function and structure with that of one of the high-voltage components, the total number of components may be reduced. However, such an integrated component has additional complexity and limited interchangeability across different vehicle models and platforms.
Within the high-voltage component having PDB functionality, the electrical connection is ordinarily made using standard electrical cables and a bus bar having a relatively complex and geometrically offset configuration. Other high-voltage components receive dedicated power lines or cables from the high-voltage component having the integral PDB. While such designs provide certain advantages, they may be less than optimal for various manufacturing, cost-related, and packaging purposes.